Things can change quickly in one week. Last Tuesday, the Oilers were coming off a come-from-behind victory over the Devils ignited by the return of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and many felt things were looking up.

Since then, they've lost three straight, they are still giving up almost five goals a game, Nail Yakupov has been benched and Oilersnation is livid. Welcome to another rollercoaster season of Edmonton Oilers hockey.

There is so much to discuss, I wasn't sure where to begin, but I'll start with the status of Yakupov.

I wasn't shocked Yakupov was scratched in Toronto, although I didn't think it would happen, but I was surprised he sat out vs. the Capitals. Here's my take on it.

I have no problem with Eakins healthy scratching Yakupov. Some will like it, others hate it, but Eakins made it clear from the start of the season what he expects from players. We aren't privy to every conversation that goes on, but Eakins did hint at why Yakupov was scratched. He felt the former #1 pick was frustrated and trying to do things on his own.

I doubt Yakupov pouts. He's a proud kid and he isn't lacking in confidence or bravado. When he plays tonight, no way he doesn't, I'm sure he'll have an extra jump in his stride. The key will be can he maintain that, and will he play the type of game that Eakins wants. I'd like to think he would, but we won't know until the next 10-20 games.

Many great players have been banished to the pressbox for a game or two, and they were better for it. Steven Stamkos and Ilya Kovalchuk spent a game upstairs and they became two of the most lethal score scorers of the past five years. Yakupov's skill didn't evaporate during the past 72 hours. If he hates Eakins, that is fine. Coaches and players aren't supposed to be best friends. Eakins' job is to get the most out of Yakupov, and he clearly feels that benching him for two games will be the right way to motivate him. Time will tell if he was correct.

If Yakupov plays well, Eakins will play him, and he'll likely play him a lot. Eakins challenged him, let's see how Yakupov responds.

LINEMATES...SCHMINEMATES...

I don't understand those who claim Yakupov hasn't produced because of who he's playing with. First of all it is a cop out, and secondly it isn't true.

Yakupov started the year with Boyd Gordon. Gordon is currently leading the team with four goals.

Then he played with Marc Arcobello and David Perron. Both of them are tied for the team lead in points with five. And Arcobello managed to produce playing with Ryan Smyth, who many claim is an offensive anchor, even though he has three goals.

Then he played the final 22 minutes of the NJ game rotating with Gordon, RNH, Arcobello, Perron and Hall.

He was back with Gordon vs. Montreal, before sitting out the past two games.

Since Yakupov has been scratched, Arcobello had a 3-point game playing with Eberle and Smyth. Smyth, Perron, Gordon and Arcobello all found a way to produce without playing beside Hall or Nugent-Hopkins. So tell me again why Yakupov is the only one who is getting "brutal" linemates? It simply isn't the case.

Stop blaming his linemates. They are all NHL players, and Yakupov is skilled enough that he should be able to contribute offensively playing with any of the other top-nine forwards on this team.

QUICK HITS....

Even the most anti-Dubnyk fan, wouldn't have predicted he'd start the season this bad. He didn't struggle this bad early in his career, even when he went eleven games without a victory. In those first 11 NHL games, he allowed 47 goals on 338 shots for a .860SV%. In his next six games, he went 4-2 and stopped 193 of 208 shots for a .928SV%.

During his next three NHL seasons he had a .917SV%. It is fair to question his penchant for allowing a soft goal, but even when he was doing that he still found ways to have a respectable SV%.

His first four starts has been the worst stretch of his career. I don't think it is possible he can continue to struggle this bad. The question is how long before he gets back to playing like he did last year. Even if Dubnyk played average in his first four starts the Oilers would have won two of them.

He needs to find his game to keep the Oilers in the hunt, but even if he plays well, I can't see Craig MacTavish starting next season with him as the clear cut starting goalie. At the very least, he'll have a legitimate contender battling for his job, and at worst, for him; he'll be the back up or not in the organization.

The Oilers have scored the first goal five times this year, yet they've lost all five of those games. Dubnyk and Jason LaBarbera can't complain that their teammates came out flat. One of the goalies has to start making some saves when the Oilers have the lead. Every team will give up leads, but the goalies have to at least make it difficult to tie the game.

Last year the Oilers scored first in 24 of 48 games. They went 12-6-6 in those games. In 2011/2012 they scored first in 40 of 82 games and went 23-11-6. In 2010/2011 they scored first in 32 of 82 games and went 14-8-6. They are getting better at scoring first, and if they can get some decent goaltending they should start winning.

The Oilers haven't allowed 29 goals in a six-game stretch since November 9th-17th, 2010. Back then the Oilers were a bad team. They were outshot 235-140 and outscored 33-11 in those six games. Their SV% was .860 at that time.

This year the Oilers have outshot the opposition 177-170, and they've been outscored 29-18. Their team SV% is a paltry .839. The Oilers are far from perfect, but much of their problems would be solved by even decent goaltending.

They are still making some key mistakes defensively, but with decent goaltending they would have beat the Jets and Leafs and be .500 which is about where I'd expect them to be. If their goaltending doesn't improve this road trip could turn ugly very quickly. The Penguins got spanked by the Panthers on Friday; they won't be taking the Oilers lightly tonight.

Arcobello has played very well, but he needs to start hitting the net. Last night he had two great chances from within 15 feet and missed the net both times. You can't score if you don't hit the net. I've been impressed with many facets of his game, but he needs to stop looking for the perfect shot. Just get in on net.

Hall needs to put away the toe-drag move for a bit. It isn't working. I understand wanting to try it, but he needs to use his speed and go wide, or just rip a wrist shot. He has a great shot. He needs to let it fly.

The +/- stat isn't the best indicator of how a player is playing, but you can't ignore that RNH is -9, Hemsky is -8 and Hall is -7. They have to be better defensively. No excuses.

The PK is a mess. Goalies can be better, stating the obvious, but the Oilers are leaving guys wide open all over the ice. They've given up 7 PP goals already. They were 9th in PK last year allowing 29 PP goals all season. Right now Gordon is the only forward with any significant PK experience. Acton, RNH, Hemsky, Perron and Hall haven't done it very often in the NHL. It will take some for them to get comfortable, but I wonder if they look at adding another veteran forward who can kill penalties?

Alex Steen has to be one of the most underrated players in the NHL. In the summer Hitchcock told me Steen was his best forward, and he thought Steen could score 70 points this year. He said Steen was an excellent two-way player, who was going to focus a bit more on offence this year. It is very early, but Hitchcock looks like a genius. Steen has 4-4-8 in four games for the Blues.

Speaking of the Blues, Magnus Paajarvi has been a healthy scratch for all four games this season.

Until the Oilers are better defensively, not just in goal, they won't compete for the playoffs. The Oilers are are 1-4-1 and 19-29 in goals for-goals against. The top-three teams in the west prove defence wins. Sharks are 5-0 and have outscored the opposition 24-7. The Avs are 5-0 and 18-4 in GF-GA while the Blues are also 4-0 and 19-7 in GF-GA.

The players and organization need to realize the Oilers don't have significantly more skill than the other teams in the west, and until they commit to playing better away from the puck and in their own zone this team isn't making the playoffs. It is early, but team defence and goaltending are the obvious weaknesses.

Overall I think this team is better than previous years, and eventually they will see results, but they need to try and salvage the month of October. I don't belive they can't be 10-12 points out of the playoffs on October 31st, and still make the playoffs. They must find a way to stay close.

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

yakupov is benched because he isn't playing up to a standard that Eakin's beleives he can play at. Brown and Gadzic are what they are and they aren't going to benefit much from having a night in the pressbox. He's sending a message to yak

Yakupov's role is to contribute offensively and he's been completely UNPRODUCTIVE so far this season. Brown and Gadzic's role is to intimidate and play a physical game, while they aren't perfect anyone can see they are fulfilling their role lights out better then Yak, who thinks he can go around 3 NHL players. Yakupov might be able to dance around our defence at practise but they do not represent the NHL standard.

Hayek even better when should hall, hemsky or j.schultz have to earn it? These three have been major disappointments. Hall is not the superstar everyone thinks he is and never will be. Taylor 'fall' has been terrible

Hayek even better when should hall, hemsky or j.schultz have to earn it? These three have been major disappointments. Hall is not the superstar everyone thinks he is and never will be. Taylor 'fall' has been terrible

I agree they are playing weak at times too. But they have earned it through their play last season. Hall, Hemsky, Schultz, and even RNH are playing less than optimal, but even at that, they are outshooting and outchancing their opposition.

Maybe you are not happy they haven't been winning games, but these guys are reasons we have a chance in games, not the reason we are losing.

And you are completely wrong, Hall IS the superstar everyone thinks he is.

It is six games. The Oilers have outshot opposition in 5 of them. Decent goaltending and they are 3-3. You don't change the system, that would be pushing the panic button. The Oilers haven't played that bad IMO.

I don't think benching Yak was heavy handed.

He has zero points.

Hall, Gordon, Perron and Arcobello have 5 points.

Hemsky, Smyth, Eberle have 4 points.

RNH has 3 points.

If it was just on points, he isn't producing, but Eakins felt he looked frustrated and wasn't using his linemates enough. I don't think it is that big of deal in the long run. But that is just me.

yakupov is benched because he isn't playing up to a standard that Eakin's beleives he can play at. Brown and Gadzic are what they are and they aren't going to benefit much from having a night in the pressbox. He's sending a message to yak

Generating the 2nd most scoring chances on the team is not productive? Results haven't been there with zero points, but the effort and production have.

By setting a below NHL standard for Gadzic and Brown, we are saying they can be terrible every game (not put up points, get outchanced), and you are fine with this as a fan? Just to see a couple hits or fights?

It would absolutely no sense to scratch Yakupov again tonight, if Eakins chooses to do so then somethin's gonna go down.

I also can't believe a much of a shorter leash Yakupov is getting than Hall, Eberle, and Gagner did in their first 100 games..they all struggled and still do, yet Yakupov has a few bad games and has to sit.
I don't have a problem with him sitting, I just think all players should be treated fairly.

The other guys did have different coaches..but if MacT decides to trade Yakupov at this point I think it'll come back and burn the Oilers big time for a very long long time.

And we wake to the oilers at the beginning of this work week the same as they were last week:

Dead last in the west and still without a regulation win (only NJ shares that crown).

Shots/saves don't tell the whole story sometimes. To my eye at least wash had as many or more high quality scoring chances as EDM but either missed th pass, fanned on the shot or shot wide/was blocked.

The difference btwn Dubnyks svs % this year and last is about 8 svs. It could be argued that four of those were his fault and the other four were better quality opps that the opponent made good on. In some part dubnyk stats are masking an EDM d that is also playing worse than the beginning of last year. And that's the fault of both skaters and coaching. IOW there is blame to go around on virtually everyone.

Jason, you say "The Oilers haven't allowed 29 goals in a six-game stretch since November 9th-17th, 2010. Back then the Oilers were a bad team."
Aren't we still a "bad team"?
The management of this team needed a plan and a timeline that corresponded with their acquisiton of supposed skill players, that they acquired from being the worst team in hockey since the 2005 lockout. So far, obviously, they have failed miserably. They have every resource available to them because of a rich fanboy owner, yet their team has had the same issues for year. Compare the work of this management team to other NHL franchise's in similar situations. KLowe and the gang are amateurs, who owe their survival to cronyism. And we, the overpaying fans of this sh*tshow of a franchise, are the ones who pay for it. I am quite certain that interest in this team will start to drop. People, even in hockey crazy booming Edmonton, will see no point in spending hard earned cash on a team with no future, or limited prospects. Its becoming to frustrating, and uninteresting.

"I really don’t like skating all the time, and forechecking, and hitting somebody every shift." -Nail Yakupov

A lot has been made about Yakupov's comments here. Should he have said this to the media.....no. At the same time I don't want him going into the corners and hitting people and getting hit himself. That's not why they pay him!!! The pay him to score goals!! The last thing we need is for him to be going into the corner and separating a shoulder. He's is a small guy and if he keeps going into the corners he will get hurt. I understand that he needs to be giving a full effort but don't make him be a player that he is not like all our skill guys playing the PK. How's that working out so far.....

No one is asking him to be an enforcer and be out there hitting guys all the time. Just play with heart and effort. Keeping your feet moving and forechecking are two fundamentals of a good hockey player. Floating around waiting for the puck might get you a few goals but it also loses a lot of games. I highly doubt any players on LA or Chicago think that forechecking and skating are something you only do when you feel like it.

The better you forecheck and the harder you work to get the puck, the more you will have the puck. Pretty simple.

Defensive coverage in our end is an epic fail. The "swarm" isn't working and can be blamed for the high quality chances being given up over ad over. The idea to worry about the puck in the corner but not the player in the slot makes no sense. Until we abandon this failed system this team will struggle. It's going to be a very long season.

The systems play, especially defensively, has looked disorganized to say the least. Is it a possibility that coaches Smith and Buchberger are also struggling with learning Eakins systems? It would be very hard to teach/coach a system you didn't fully understand. Have you gotten a sense maybe this is a contributing factor? Maybe I'm way off here, but there has to be answers...this is getting painful to watch.

I haven't see the Oilers get hemmed in for lengthy periods of time like in previous years. The difference with this system is if one guy makes the wrong play it opens up a great scoring chance.

The Oilers aren't giving up a lot of shots, but when they break down they are giving up a grade A chance, and right now the goalies can't stop anything so they have no one to bail them out. Bad combination.

Defensive coverage in our end is an epic fail. The "swarm" isn't working and can be blamed for the high quality chances being given up over ad over. The idea to worry about the puck in the corner but not the player in the slot makes no sense. Until we abandon this failed system this team will struggle. It's going to be a very long season.

I noticed that too. Both defensemen in the corner, with an uncovered man all alone in the slot. That's going to be a goal every time on even a decent goaltender.

The systems play, especially defensively, has looked disorganized to say the least. Is it a possibility that coaches Smith and Buchberger are also struggling with learning Eakins systems? It would be very hard to teach/coach a system you didn't fully understand. Have you gotten a sense maybe this is a contributing factor? Maybe I'm way off here, but there has to be answers...this is getting painful to watch.

Jason, you say "The Oilers haven't allowed 29 goals in a six-game stretch since November 9th-17th, 2010. Back then the Oilers were a bad team."
Aren't we still a "bad team"?
The management of this team needed a plan and a timeline that corresponded with their acquisiton of supposed skill players, that they acquired from being the worst team in hockey since the 2005 lockout. So far, obviously, they have failed miserably. They have every resource available to them because of a rich fanboy owner, yet their team has had the same issues for year. Compare the work of this management team to other NHL franchise's in similar situations. KLowe and the gang are amateurs, who owe their survival to cronyism. And we, the overpaying fans of this sh*tshow of a franchise, are the ones who pay for it. I am quite certain that interest in this team will start to drop. People, even in hockey crazy booming Edmonton, will see no point in spending hard earned cash on a team with no future, or limited prospects. Its becoming to frustrating, and uninteresting.

This team has sucked for 7 years and the building was sold out. I'm not sure why suddenly that would change. If it did, I'd understand it, but the season seats are already paid for. Only the walk up people can impact that and I doubt it happens.

The 2010 was terrible, I pointed out the difference in shots. This team is actually outshooting the opposition, and if goaltending was average they would be 3-3 and no one would be that upset. This team isn't close to as bad as the one in 2010.

Jason, I have read a lot stuff out there suggesting that J. Shultz has struggled mightly in his own end. I have only been to one game this year and he didn't look terrible (gave up the puck to much, but IMO a skilled player is going to give up the puck more then others trying to make more significant plays), it is also hard to judge on TV sometime. What are your thought on #19's play?

He has struggled, but he's also only played 54 NHL games and he's never been a defensive specialist.

He needs to make smarter decisions in his own zone, and I suspect he will. Seems like he is trying to hard. I think he needs to simplify his game in his own zone.

Calgary is lousy on paper but winning. Edmonton is good on paper but losing. At what point is the coach held accountable? I'm not talking about firing Eakins (yet) but where are the questions about his responsibility in this losing streak?

I'd be just as happy as you to see real players instead of brown and gadzic, just pointing out that yakupov isn't being benched because Eakin's thinks that gadzic or brown give them a better chance to win than yakupov, but that this is because Eakin's thinks that the time off will help yakupov going forward, or send a message to the rest about accountability. benching mike brown doesn't really do that.

Whether or not this works out or blows up in Eakin's face, well we'll have to wait and see on that front.

I don't think I would have benched Yak for the first game, but after hearing his quote about skating and hitting after it, I was in full support of the second game.

I actually did not think he has been playing too bad. The puck has not been going in so he is squeezing his stick a little.

If this helps with his attitude I am sure we can expect him to work his way out of the scoring funk he is in right now.

If a skill player isn't scoring it can really effect their confidence. Limiting their minutes and playing them on the third line (Even if there are still skilled players there) would not help to build that confidence.

I 100% would come back tonight with Hall Nuge and Yakupov. Let him play some big minutes with some of your top players. I am betting if he pots a few his confidence will go right back to where it was at the end of last year.

Actually they haven't regressed in every measurable category. Quite the opposite in fact. Saying the Oilers have been outplayed all year is incorrect. They should be 3-3 with decent goaltending. They are a .500 team in my mind, so they've played like I expected them to play, excluding the goalies.

The have improved measurably in faceoffs.
They've scored first 5 of 6 times. They did it only 50% of games last year.

They are outshooting the opposition in 5 of 6 games. They outshot teams 11 of 48 games last year. That is a major improvement.

Goaltending has been brutal. You can't sugarcoat it, but Eakins doesn't involve himself with the goalies. He lets Chabot do it, (He was here last year).

So I'm not sure why you think coaching has had such a negative impact. PK and goaltending are the two areas they are worse in. Goalie has a lot to do with both.

Their forwards are all different on the PK, that is the issue there, not necessarily coaching.

Have you ever climbed up an old rickity ladder, broken out into a sweat and realized that you have have just climbed too high? The old band wagon seems that way today.

The problem is that I like hockey and want to cheer for someone and it is hard today.

Since I grew up during the heady WHA days, by default, one could always cheer for one of the old WHA teams. Hartford had those amazing jerseys. Les Nordiques challenged the Canadians for supremacy in Quebec till they really started to suck and got exiled to the high country. Winnipeg was our arch rival but how could you cheer for someone that you wiped the floor with on a regular basis?

What to do? What to do? Maybe there is someone in the east I could try cheering for, just to try it out.

The Oilers were winning 1-0 and on two occasions, with the faceoff in Washington's end, Eakins rolled out the 4th line. When a team is struggling and dominating early in a game wouldn't the best strategy be to at least roll with your 1st or 2nd line and try to increase your lead? Its too early to judge his system however the Oilers need wins and we all know that the Oilers cannot defend one goal leads. For this I give an Eakins an F.

"I really don’t like skating all the time, and forechecking, and hitting somebody every shift." -Nail Yakupov

A lot has been made about Yakupov's comments here. Should he have said this to the media.....no. At the same time I don't want him going into the corners and hitting people and getting hit himself. That's not why they pay him!!! The pay him to score goals!! The last thing we need is for him to be going into the corner and separating a shoulder. He's is a small guy and if he keeps going into the corners he will get hurt. I understand that he needs to be giving a full effort but don't make him be a player that he is not like all our skill guys playing the PK. How's that working out so far.....

The game before he was scratched Yakupov had one shift where he went out and hit everything in sight. Three hits along the boards in about 30 seconds. I wonder if this was a sarcastic reaction to some criticism from Eakins.

Yak has been unimpressive this season. I was at the Jets preseason game and there was more than once where he just gave up. Preseason or no, there should be some compete level there.

I was at the Montreal game too and saw him lose the puck, then just skate away. Last year's Yak would have tried to get it back; not this year's Yak. He deserved to sit out at least one game. I think the second game against Ovechkin was a clear message to Yak. Eakins is in charge.

Last year he set the bar; this year he has something to prove. He needs to give the coach a reason to put him ahead of Hemsky. Be a team player. This isn't Team Yak, these are the Oilers so act like one of the team. We don't expect him to be like Hall and carry the whole team on his back yet. He has a couple years before he has to do that.

Yak doesn't have to like the coach but he has to respect the coach.

Secondly, Eakins needs to study last year's PK and PP. The Oilers were so much better at both last year.

A chain/team is only as strong as its weakest link. Everyone's paying for Devans inability to stop the puck. Eakins needs to be spreading that blame around equally though. Sitting the likes of Hall, Eberle, J.Shultz and RNH will certainly cost the Oilers yet a few more games. If this isn't the case, we know this is much less about team play (everyones accountable while without the puck) and who Eakins little whipping boy has become.

I personally look forward to Dubey rebounding and carrying them back to where his game was at last season....24th place. And for that, we give thanks Mr. Lowe.

The night was long,
The air was thick,
The oilers goals against aren't worth a lick,
Management searched from pole to pole,
To find the goalie who wont give up the big goal,
When they found him their battery was dead,
The shooter tutor was screwed to the shed!

If I'm Dallas Eakins, I see the perfect opportunity to tell everyone in the locker room to play this one tight. We're playing the most talented team in the league and in their barn. Pucks out of the zone, don't be afraid to ice the puck if it's the safe play. We're not slowing anyone down in the neutral zone so forwards need to err on the side of caution and be there to support the D on their backcheck. Doesn't matter how many goals we score if we lose. Grind out a win tonight and everyone will feel better about themselves, especially the goalies.

I've seen many big men take time to learn how to use their combination of size and speed to their advantage. Classic example is Todd Bertuzzi.

Most players need to make adjustments to their game to play at this level. Not everyone is Sidney Crosby where the game comes to them. Yes, Magnus should know by know what he needs to do. He just needs to do it.

Todd Bertuzzi has mean that cannot be coached. PRV has no such attributes. He does not play big , use his size or hit. Comparing the two is asinine.

I said it before and I'll say it again - the swarm system will not work for our team makeup . We do not have the size , toughness and grit as a group to make it work successfully for our squad . Our young stars are not so inclined to excel at such a physical game for any length of time successfully and thus major breakdowns will continue to haunt this team if they do . That is pretty evident already by my estimation . There is not a Messier , Tikkannen , Kurri , Linesman or Anderson in our group of youngsters . Yak could be , but is reluctant to go that way . To much skill and a supporting caste that cannot make a difference ?

Those saying "Hall Hemsky RNH Schultz" are out-chancing the opposition are just plain wrong. ALL of them have Corsi numbers under 50%. They are not playing well, period.

Hall SHOULD NOT be carrying the puck into the O-zone. He gives it away over half the time when he tries that. He needs to dump it in and skate like balls to go get it. I haven't seen the numbers, but if he is not top 5 in the NHL in giveaways then I would be VERY surprised.